The Fox Father came over holding some rice crackers and other snacks.
"Besides, this place is too far from the foot of the mountain. Even for us, it's impossible to buy so much metal material for building houses and bring it all the way up here."
He didn't seem to mind much. "So, we simply used what was around us and cut down some trees from the nearby forest to build our homes."
The Fox Mother also came over carrying tea. She set down the cups and poured tea for the two guests.
"Anyway, we're magical beasts, right? Living in a wooden house gives us a sort of return-to-nature feeling."
The Fox Father lifted his teacup, still showing his sense of humor.
"I see..."
Luke held his teacup while glancing around thoughtfully.
"Of course, our craftsmanship can't compare to that of professional human carpenters. It's a bit rough around the edges."
The Fox Father opened a pack of rice crackers, picked up a piece, and popped it into his mouth.
Crunch.
The crisp sound was followed by the sweet aroma of the snack spreading in his mouth, making him narrow his eyes slightly.
Human snacks really were more pleasant and delicious.
"To be able to make it like this already takes skill."
Luke gave a fair comment. "You've made the wooden parts so neat, and the joints fit together well."
"That's nothing."
The Fox Father laughed modestly. "Most of our talents are focused on intelligence and transformation."
"When it comes to fine technical work like carpentry, we're still a bit behind compared to some other beast species with natural tools or sharper claws."
"Still, being able to speak, think, and communicate freely with humans is already a great blessing from the heavens. We're very grateful for that."
Clearly, the Fox Father was quite satisfied and content with his current life.
"So it's just a lack of proper tools and skill, then?"
Luke smiled at that. "In other words, if you had the right conditions and abilities..."
"You could build much better houses, right?"
"Well, I suppose that's true..."
The Fox Father looked up at him, puzzled.
"If I really had the means, I could indeed rebuild this place, make a prettier and more refined home."
He wasn't boasting.
Before moving to the mountaintop near Dolle Harbor, he had lived in a town below.
There, he had studied many books and blueprints about house construction, and even asked human craftsmen for advice.
He had always admired the fruits of human civilization and intelligence.
Even for something like building a house, he sought to learn from them whenever he could.
Although the final result was a bit crude, that was due to material and craftsmanship limits.
In terms of design, though, the Fox Father had quite a bit of understanding.
"That's perfect. Since I came here as a guest and didn't prepare a proper gift..."
Luke smiled and took something out from behind his back.
"So, I'll use this as my housewarming present."
With a pop, he set a bottle of drink on the table.
"This is...?"
The Fox Father stared blankly at the small orange-red bottled drink on the table, then he looked at Luke in confusion.
"This…"
Luke said with a grin, "Is what will complete your skills and tools."
"It's called Carpenter Drink."
Invention: Carpenter Drink
Origin: Doraemon World — Future Tech Company
Function: After drinking it, your body will gain every ability needed to become a master carpenter!
This is a classic Doraemon trope when Suneo brags.
One day, Suneo, showing off as usual, invited Nobita and his friends to his home.
But this time, he wasn't showing off his wealth, but rather his own dad.
His dad used a high-tech chainsaw worth tens of thousands of dollars to demonstrate his meticulous carpentry skills.
Meanwhile, when Nobita returns home, he finds his own father suddenly motivated, trying to act like a carpenter to build him a wooden bookshelf.
But in the end… he snapped the saw in half and blamed it on poor tools.
So, the ever-resourceful blue robot cat gave Nobita's father this very gadget, the Carpenter Drink.
"Carpenter Drink? What's that?"
The Fox Father squinted at the small bottle, inspecting it carefully.
It looked just like any ordinary drink bottle, with a small black hammer symbol printed on the label.
After hearing Luke's explanation, his eyes suddenly widened.
"You mean…."
He gestured midair: "That if I drink this, I'll become a great carpenter?"
"I can't guarantee your technique, but your body..."
Luke smiled, glancing at his hands. "Will absolutely have the best carpenter functionality."
Carpenter... Functionality?
The Fox Father still didn't quite get it.
But driven by curiosity, he picked up the small bottle from the table.
"Well then, I won't hold back."
"No need to. It's meant for you."
At Luke's gesture, the Fox Father twisted the cap off and gulped down the drink.
Gulp! Gulp!
Hmm... Tasted kind of like orange soda.
He smacked his lips, savoring the flavor briefly, but only for a moment.
Because the next second…
"Hmm?!"
To his astonishment, his right hand suddenly began to glow!
"What is this?!"
He stared in shock at his hand that was radiating a dazzling red light.
"From now on."
Luke said with a grin, "Your hands are the sharpest saws in the world."
Luke smiled while casually pulling out a wooden plank and handing it to the Fox Father.
"Try it out, see how it works."
"A saw...?"
The Fox Father also seemed to feel something different about his palms.
Carefully, he brought his hands together like a blade and pushed lightly against the plank.
Then…
Ssshhk!
Without any resistance, with just the motion of his hand like a knife, the plank was cleanly sliced apart.
"Does it really work?!"
The Fox Father was astonished, and he instinctively shook his hand.
"It really turned into a saw? It feels just like cutting through paper!"
Amazed and thrilled, he quickly grew excited.
"My hands turned into saws and they are this sharp!"
Feeling the novelty of it, the Fox Father happily played with it, slicing one plank after another with his hand.
He looked just like a husky tearing apart a house.
Indeed, men remain boys at heart until death; this held true even for magical beasts like him.
Luke calmly sipped his tea and munched on rice crackers while watching the Fox Father play so gleefully that he nearly sawed through the table.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
When the Fox Mother saw this, she could not hold back her temper and shouted loudly.
With a guest present, she could only suppress her anger and glare at her husband with a dark face.
...
He really might have gone a bit too far.
Looking around at all the broken wood scattered on the floor, he gave an awkward smile.
But soon, his excitement once again filled his mind.
He still couldn't believe how amazing it was that his hands had turned into saws.
"What on earth is this...?"
He looked at his palms first, then at the empty drink bottle on the table, and finally turned his gaze toward Luke, who sat calmly nearby.
"How did you do it?!"
"It's nothing special..."
Meeting that curious, excited gaze, Luke smiled and said, "I'm just an ordinary inventor."
"And it's only natural for someone like me to have such inventions, right?"
An inventor...?
The Fox Father ponders that word around in his mind.
Having inventions like these... Is it really reasonable?!
He had heard the term invention before.
Human civilization has advanced through one invention after another, such as cars, telephones, airships, televisions, and so on.
But those were all within the bounds of understanding, explainable by science.
However, this so-called invention that Luke produced… It was the first time the Fox Father had ever seen something like it.
No matter how he looked at it, it felt more like something out of a fantasy, something born of imagination.
"It's probably related to Nen."
He thought to himself knowingly.
As a guide for the Hunter Association, he had escorted countless applicants to the official exam site over the years.
Among them were, of course, some who already possessed Nen abilities.
He knew of Nen's existence.
And based on his years of experience, it was clear to him that Luke's Carpenter Drink was a product of Nen!
In fact, with a bold guess, he could almost determine that Luke's Nen ability must be closely tied to his self-proclaimed identity.
Inventor and Inventions...
Countless thoughts flickered through the Fox Father's mind, but he didn't say them aloud.
After all, a Nen user's ability was their deepest secret, their trump card for survival.
And since Luke had openly displayed his ability before him, it would be rude to pry further.
Instead, the Fox Father felt a deep sense of goodwill.
For someone to show such trust, to demonstrate his ability so casually and even share the results of it, letting him experience it firsthand, that meant a lot.
"And not only that."
He thought, "He's even helping me rebuild my wooden house..."
The more he thought about it, the more he appreciated Luke's kindness.
As an intelligent magical beast, he could easily sense the difference between genuine goodwill and hidden malice.
Luke's behavior clearly showed he didn't treat him as an outsider and wasn't worried about revealing his secrets.
That openness only made the Fox Father feel closer to him.
"Luke treats me as a friend, I can't just take that lightly!"
"Besides, there are still two days left before the deadline to send the applicants to the official exam site."
"So let's get to work!"
The Fox Father's gaze grew firm.
"Hm...?"
Luke, who had been sipping tea, suddenly sensed the fiery fighting spirit blazing in the Fox Father.
He tilted his head in confusion, completely unsure where this high spirit came from.
"Could it be that male creatures all enjoy hobbies like carpentry and fishing, things ingrained in their genes?"
Luke couldn't figure it out.
But that didn't stop him from cheering the Fox Father on.
Over the next two days, he truly witnessed the action-oriented nature of the magical beast.
Whrrrrrr!!!
The Fox Father easily felled every stout tree in the forest.
And, using his palms as a saw, he trimmed each tree one by one.
As the saying goes, if you're not dead, keep working till you drop.
But the body still has a limit to its endurance.
Even cows and horses need to eat grass and rest when they're hungry.
However, clearly, the Fox Father was no ordinary beast; that logic didn't apply to him.
For days, he worked tirelessly without even closing his eyes, completely absorbed in the fervor of construction.
He even dragged his son and daughter into it, making the two little ones run around helping him from start to finish.
Watching the scene of everyone busily running around, Luke wondered if he should help out as well.
But he was immediately and firmly refused by the Fox Father.
And the reason he gave was perfectly justified: "You're a guest. Since you've come to our home as a guest, how could we possibly let a guest do the work?!"
Well, Luke could only stand aside and watch.
He helped the Fox Mother a little with preparing the meal.
Yes, the Fox family's food was always prepared by the Fox Mother.
Luke, on the other hand, used the Plant Re-modeler to provide some desserts and snacks, making the two little ones beam with joy.
The resentment they had for being made to work so hard disappeared entirely once the treats appeared.
"An invention that can make trees grow food..."
Even while working, the Fox Father didn't forget to keep an eye on Luke's actions.
Seeing yet another miraculous display, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"If there are so many wondrous inventions, then perhaps..."
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
"With Luke's abilities, maybe it's actually possible to..."
He remembered a legend, one passed down for generations from his ancestors.
"Let's talk about that after the house is rebuilt."
The Fox Father shook his head, temporarily pressing the thought down in his heart.
It had to be said, now that all the tools and skills were in place, the Fox Father worked like a force of nature.
With his fierce and efficient energy, it took less than two days for the new house to be fully completed.
"And with that, mission accomplished!"
In front of the Lone Pine Tree, the Fox Father clapped his hands, utterly satisfied with his masterpiece.
The new house that now stood under the pine tree was far superior to the old, crude wooden hut.
Every plank and beam fit together perfectly, and the saw cuts are aligned neatly and precisely.
When all those timbers came together so seamlessly, it looked almost like a product of human industrial craftsmanship.
Its appearance, cleanliness, and decoration were on a whole new level.